Close Enough to Touch
by Kirsten D
Summary: Oneshot. Reid looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think I can love you." he said softly. "I want to love you."


**A/N **First fanfic and all that. If you like it, let me know. If you hate it, let me know. I want to know what you guys think of it. There is no description or a name used for the girl in the story. I sort of wanted the reader to be able to put themselves in the story and not be put off by descriptions of a girl that doesn't look like them. Cuz I know I am not the only one who puts themselves in a story, at least I hope not. Is it a good idea? Let me know what you think.

The rating is T but it does get a little steamy towards the end but nothing that could up the rating. I don't think at least.

* * *

I watched him at Nicky's. The bar was crowded and full of smoke thick enough that it cast a faint cloud that hung overhead.

I sat at the bar, nibbling on a basket of fries while Nicky was behind me, busy working and preparing everyone's meals for the night. He came up to me every now and then to refill my drink and shoot me a smile that I returned every time.

I frequented the bar enough for me to build somewhat of a relationship with Nicky and some of his staff.

My attention was returned to the area where a row of pool tables were located. Where the man who filled my thoughts on a daily basis could always be found, swindling everyone and anyone out of their money who dare challenge him to a game. He played with his best friend and a group of guys that I didn't recognize.

I watched them with undivided attention. My main focus was on the blonde, who had way too much attitude for his own good. I noticed how he licked his lips every time before taking aim and hitting the ball. How when he succeeded his face would break into a brief smile before slipping off, making it hard for most people to catch. I noted how this smile was so much different than his usual smirk.

I watched him sink the final ball. He smirked up at his friend and then at the group of guys who had a look of disbelief etched on their faces.

"Pay up." he held out his hand and money was placed into it while the guys were rambling on about how he cheated and there was no way he could've made that final shot.

I laugh a little. I wouldn't be surprised if he did cheat. Reid wasn't exactly the Boy Scout. Everything about him, the way he moved, how he talked, screamed run away to anyone who considered approaching him. This was why I couldn't fathom why I was even drawn to him so much. He was the kind of guy I was taught to stay far away from. I should be running away but something drew me to him. I wanted to know more.

He pocketed his winnings and began to walk towards the bar.

My eyes widened and I quickly turned around in my seat, using the back of my hand to wipe away any salt or bits of fries that might've fallen.

I soon felt a presence beside me and turned my head to him. My breath caught. He was incredibly gorgeous. His blonde hair was uncovered tonight. The signature beanie left at home most likely.

He held up two fingers to Nicky. "Two cokes."

"Sure thing Reid." was the gruff reply.

He glanced around the room before his eyes finally made its way to me and caught me staring.

I tensed as his blue gaze bore into mine and I resisted the urge to look away.

A blond eyebrow rose as I said nothing but still continued to stare.

"Uh, hey." I seemed to push out.

He nodded slowly in reply. "What's up."

I clear my throat. "Great game." I point toward the pool tables.

Nicky came back with the two cokes and placed them in front of Reid who took them up and looked back at me. "Thanks." and walked away.

* * *

We were at the Dells. My best friend Hannah stood beside me chattering away about something or another. I wasn't listening. My attention was elsewhere.

Across the bonfire were Reid and his 3 best friends. Wherever they went Reid was not too far away. They hardly ever separated.

He stood with his hands in his pockets his eyes scanning over the people who were dancing. His friends were in a discussion; evidently one Reid didn't feel like participating in.

I watched as his eyes slowly made its way across the field and eventually came to land on me.

I tensed up at being caught once again and immediately looked away. I turned to Hannah who was still talking about some things she needed to pick up at the store. I smiled and nodded when she asked me if I would mind going with her to pick up the few things that she needed.

I chanced a look back across the fire and see Reid. His blue gaze pinning me. I freeze. And I can't look away.

A slow smile slowly spreads across his face and I wonder if he remembers me from Nicky's a few weeks ago.

"Why is Reid Garwin staring at you?" I heared Hannah say but I don't answer her.

I see him move towards our direction when the music cuts off. I tear my gaze away from his and look at the DJ as he announces that the party was over and the cops were on the way.

Chaos immediately broke out. Drinks were dropped and forgotten as people immediately looked for the people they had come with.

I look back to see if Reid was still there but found no one.

I looked next to me hoping to see Hannah, I drove with her to the party, but found no one. I immediately look around the clearing. Everyone was heading back to their cars and I couldn't remember where Hannah had parked the car.

"Dammit." I mutter to myself. How could she leave me here? I start to pull out my cell phone to dial her number when I feel a presence in front of me.

I stop what I'm doing and look up to see familiar blue eyes and immediately forget who I was calling and why I was calling them.

"Need a ride?"

I nod my head. My ability to speak had suddenly left me.

He nods his head in the direction to the woods. "Follow me." He took off in jog and I follow him through the woods until we reach a black Hummer.

"Reid! Come on!" his friends call from inside the vehicle.

Reid opened the backseat door for me to climb inside. I sit down beside whom everyone in school knew as Pogue.

His dark eyebrows disappeared in his hair. "Hello."

Reid gets in beside me and closes the door.

The car gets uncomfortably quiet as everyone in the car wondered who I was and why I was in their car.

"Uh, Reid?" the leader of their group, Caleb, called. Asking the silent question of 'who is this girl sitting in the backseat of the car?'

Reid was pulling on his black beanie. "What? She needed a ride."

Silence.

"Can we go?" he looked irritated as he looked back at Caleb.

The car was finally put into gear and we pulled off. Reid turns to me and reassuringly smiles at me and I return it.

The youngest in the front seat was the first to speak up to break the awkward silence. "I'm Tyler."

I smile back at him grateful for him breaking the awkward tension that settled in the car.

Introductions then started and meaningless conversation started up just to fill in the silent gap and to make me feel a bit more comfortable. After a while it was almost as if I was accepted and the conversation seemed to flow a lot more easily as they joked with each other and discussed their plans for the weekend.

It was kind of strange, sitting in the car with him and his friends. None of them knew who I was, except for Reid, whom I had only spoken to for the first time that night at Nicky's.

I lean back and close my eyes. I can feel the heat from Reid sitting next to me. My mind immediately goes to places that it shouldn't be going. I try to think of other things but I can't with him sitting so close to me, close enough to touch. All I had to do was reach out with my hand.

I open my eyes and clasp my hands and put them in lap, almost as if I didn't trust my hands to keep to themselves. And I didn't.

I feel my face turn hot as I blush at my own thoughts. I take a quick glance at Reid who sat quietly at my side, and I see him watching me from the corner of his eye.

I look away and feel my face getting redder by the minute. I feel like he can see what I'm thinking and I shift in my seat suddenly feeling very vulnerable as if my thoughts were on display for the world.

The car slowly comes to a stop in front of the girls dormitory.

Reid opens the door and gets out allowing me to slide out. I stand in front of him. "Thanks for the ride."

He licks his lips unconsciously and my eyes immediately look to them."No problem. I'll see you around." he gets back into the car.

"Nice meeting you. We'll see you around school." Caleb called and they drove off.

I watch the car fade away until they could no longer be seen.

My pocket begins to vibrate and I pull out my cell. Hannah's number flashes across the screen.

I laugh to myself. I had planned on giving her a piece of my mind for leaving me at the party but right now I couldn't be happier that she did.

* * *

The rain came down faster and faster, harder and harder, until no one was left standing outside. It hit the windows of the huge building in the background and fell down them in bucketfuls. People threw their sweaters over their heads and ran along road to the building.

I sat safely on the inside and watch students run for cover from the sudden downpour that came out of nowhere.

I always sit by the window. My attention always goes to it instead of paying attention to the lesson that was currently going on. People watching is always so much more interesting than listening to lectures that I am surely to forget by next week.

"Mr. Garwin."

My head snaps up at the mention of the name.

"So nice of you to join us."

He had obviously been caught in the rain. His blonde hair clung to his forehead. He had lost the school blazer and instead his white button down clung to his chest letting everyone admire his flat stomach.

My throat suddenly becomes dry and I'm having trouble swallowing. I glance around the room to see if I'm the only one who is having this problem. I'm not.

He didn't say anything but preceded to his seat next to his best friend Tyler. They both had a brief intense whisper before quieting down.

I tear my gaze away from the back of his head and focus on the teacher. I take notes for the first five minutes until I completely give up. I settle back into my seat intent on spending the rest of the class staring at the back of his head.

After class, I find myself in an empty classroom with Reid as he moved down my neck leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses in his wake; I breathe a sigh of contentment as I angle my head for him to gain even more access.

His kisses moved from my neck to trail kisses along the side of my jaw until finally he captures my lips with his own. I immediately wrap my arms around his neck and push a hand into hair that was still damp from the rain.

I pull him closer to deepen the kiss and I get a groan of appreciation in return.

He pushes me against an empty desk and lifts me slightly, all the while our lips still connected, to sit me on the desk. He moves between my legs and I feel his hand slip under my shirt.

I break away for a chance to breathe, his name on my lips. "Reid."

A nudge has me falling off the hand my head was propped against.

I'm disoriented for a moment. I look around the classroom to see it mostly empty. I fell asleep during the lecture. I rub my eyes and stifle a yawn.

I hear a giggle. "Reid, huh?"

I look up at Hannah in confusion.

She smiled. "You said his name about 5 times while you were napping."

At first I don't understand what she's talking about. Then I remember the dream I was having. I blush as I remember the details of that dream, what had went on, and what I'm pretty sure would've happened is I weren't interrupted.

Then what she said finally sunk in. I. Said. His. Name.

Oh, god. Was I loud? Did the class hear? Did HE hear?

Hannah as if listening in between the converstion in my head nodded her head. "Yes. Yes. And Yes."

I was mortified. I don't think I can face him again. I hide my face in my hands. "Oh no."

"It gets worse."

I didn't look up at her.

"He's outside waiting." she pats me on the shoulder. "Good luck." and she walks away.

I sit in the empty classroom for about three minutes before the door opens and Reid walks in with his hands in his pockets. My face is burning. I think it's going to melt right off my head and onto the desk in front of me.

Millions of things he would say run through my head. A million snide remarks to kick me when I'm down.

We've only been friends for a few months now. I hung out with him and his friends on a regular basis. I got to know Reid a bit more. He was self-centered, egotistical, arrogant, rude, stubborn. I named off these things on a day to day basis to try squash this crush I had because in all honesty I couldn't understand why I was so drawn to him. But it never worked. Only the good Lord knew what I saw in him.

We stare at each other for a while neither of us speaking. I open my mouth to speak, to say anything, but Reid was faster.

"Can we talk?"

I nod. "Yeah."

He paused as if he wasn't expecting me to agree. He takes his hands out of his pockets and walks to the desk beside mine and sits down.

I looked everywhere but at him. At the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the doors.

"If you're looking for the nearest exit to run off just tell me. I can save you some trouble and just leave."

I glare at him. "I'm not going to run off."

Reid was quiet for a moment. "You like me." he stated.

There was silence for a moment. I thought about denying it.

"Reid..." I admitted defeat. I have nothing to lose. "Yes. I do like you."

"Oh."

There was more silence. Five minutes had passed. I began to gather my stuff, taking his silence as a rejection. "I'll just leave."

His hand shot out to stop me. "No! Wait."

I cut him off. "It's okay. I get it. I think your silence was telling enough."

Realization dawned on his face. "You think I'm here to reject you."

I nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He laughed then. "Are you an idiot?"

I recoil at his statement, a little hurt.

He must've seen the hurt flash across my face because his laughter came to sudden stop. "I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I'm... here to talk about us maybe getting together?" He looked hopeful.

My eyes dart from side to side. I wasn't expecting this at all. I had only dreamed of me and Reid being together. But that was it, it was just dreams. We were so completely different, it couldn't work. Could it?

"Why?"

Reid looked thoughtful for a moment. "I've been thinking about it for a while. Us being together. And I don't think there's no one I would rather be with. I think I could fall in love with you." he said softly. "You're someone precious to me and I care a lot about you."

I was blushing ridiculously. My mind went to mush at what he had said. He pulled his chair closer to mine. He leaned in closer so that I had no choice but to stare into his eyes.

"I...that's..." I was at a loss for words. This was the kind of stuff I only managed to come up with in my head. I contemplate pinching myself to make sure I wasn't still asleep in class.

He cleared his throat and took my hands. "I know that we're incredibly different and I'm not saying that I love you right now but I do think that I could. Because when I think about everyone else who is in my life you're the only one who I don't think I could live without." he brought my hand to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on it.

"Maybe we'll work out and maybe we won't. But I definitely would like to try."

He tugged on my hands and brought me closer to him so that the sides of our noses touched, before tilting his head up until our lips met in a soft kiss. My eyes immediately close reveling in the softness of his kiss. He pulls away before I'm ready and smiles.

"So, what do you think?" he whispers to me. His breath washing over my face and I smile back at him.

"I don't think I can say no after you say something like that. Not that I would've said no in the first place." He could've written me a note, check yes or no, and I would've checked yes.

He laughs. "I'm just glad you decided to give me a chance."

I frown in confusion. "Why?"

"Most people don't think I'm exactly boyfriend material."

I understood. "That's because most people don't know you. Despite all your flaws, I believe that you will do your best to make me happy as I will do the same for you."

He laughed at my cheesiness. "Thank you. I promise you I will do my best to make you happy. I promise we'll work out."

Reid was a lot of things. He was reckless, he was self involved, he could be insensitive and rude. But he was a man of his word. He held to his promises. I knew I was as good as loved already.

End.

* * *

Just meaningless romance between Reid and an original character. I wanted to start off with something light and simple for my first fic. Didn't want anything plot heavy. Let me know what you thought about it! :)


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